This is a follow-up to a blog I wrote a few years ago. After so many years as a massage therapist, the most common question I hear is still, “How often should I get a massage?” The answer actually isn’t simple.
Massage for the healthy
As a general rule, if you are a healthy person with no chronic injuries, once a month should do it. This is just because massage helps prevent injury and helps you become more aware and in tune with your body.
Massage for the injured
If you do have an injury or discomfort in your body, it’s not as simple. Think about exercise, for example. If you exercised once a month, how much strength, endurance, and general fitness would you achieve?
If you come in for an hour long massage for an injury then go back to your life, the benefits from the massage will last a few days at the most. This does not mean you need to come in every three days. One thing that I strive for during our sessions is to educate you about what is going on with your body and give you recommendations that will help minimize your symptoms and prevent recurrence of injury.
This is why I am becoming a Stott Pilates instructor. I want to help people feel good, be aware of their posture, and be able to identify when things are not working properly.
When I see someone for a specific injury, for example a frozen shoulder, frequent sessions are necessary. Sometimes I refer them to another practitioner to work in conjunction with me in order to speed up their recovery time. To fully recover, however, you will need to follow the recommended treatment plan. Frozen shoulder is a symptom, but there is an underlying cause to the problem that needs to be addressed as well.
Massage and Long-term Health
Within the next year, I will be providing postural analysis as a service to determine your underlying problems so that I can better serve you, not only by massaging the area, but giving you the tools to be able to work on your own recovery and wellness.
We live in a society that always wants a “quick fix.” I myself have been guilty of this when doing Physical Therapy and rehabilitating my own injuries. I’ll do the home exercises for a while, but eventually I stop and end up injuring myself again. Discovering Stott Pilates has completely changed my perspective, and it has having a tremendous influence on the direction of my practice. I want to empower you so that you don’t have to rely on me every three days! I want you to experience how great it can feel to have good posture, and to know how to maintain it.
I do understand that sometimes there are things preventing you from following through, such as money and time. All I ask is for you to think about the importance of your long-term health and well-being. Only you can make the decision to heal your body, and I am here to facilitate that journey!
Please feel free to contact me online to set up your appointment, or call me at 603-321-6387. I look forward to hearing from you!